Groton - Late on the night of Jan. 27, 2007, John Geise of Mystic finished his shift at the Grand Pequot Tower at Foxwoods Resort Casino and waited around so he could give fellow butler Wayne Lecardo a ride home to Groton Long Point.

As Geise drove his Audi on Flanders Road at 1:30 a.m., a speeding Oldsmobile driven by Fitch High School sophomore Cameron Lee, who was legally drunk, crashed into his car. All three were killed.

Now Katherine Stein, Lecardo's widow, has filed a lawsuit against Geise's estate, saying he was speeding, failed to avoid the collision and was driving when he should have known his reflexes and judgment were impaired by lack of sleep. Stein has also sued Lee's estate, his father, David, who owned the Oldsmobile he was driving, and various companies that owned and had loaned the Audi to Geise while his station wagon was being serviced.

She has also sued Alexander Lavruk, who hosted the large teen-drinking party that Lee attended before the crash, and Lavruk's stepfather, Charles Boos, who owned the house at 67 Farmstead Ave. but was not home at the time of the party.

Geise's widow, Jennifer, filed a lawsuit against David Lee and Lavruk two months ago.

A police investigation revealed that Lee was driving as fast as 101 miles per hour in the seconds before the fiery crash, which Lee's passenger, Nelson Panganiban, survived. The investigation also revealed the 16-year-old Lee was in violation of teenage license restrictions that barred him from driving after midnight or with a passenger. His blood-alcohol level was .12, six times the legal limit of .02 for underage drivers and above the legal limit of .08 for adult drivers. Lavruk was charged by police with hosting the party, and he paid a $146 fine. Police said those at the party refused to tell them where the alcohol came from.

Stein's suit states that Geise's negligence substantially contributed to Lecardo's injuries and his death. Geise's estate is administered by his widow, Jennifer and the couple have two young children.

Stein's attorney, John Brown of Hartford, said Thursday that his client reluctantly sued Geise's estate.

”As distasteful as bringing an allegation against someone she considers a close and personal friend, she did so reluctantly on the advice of her attorney,” he said. “If we could have left them out without jeopardizing the rest of the case we would have done so. But we couldn't.”

Brown said he made the recommendation to sue Geise's estate because of the legal concept of shared liability in which all parties who may have contributed to the damages must be named.

If Stein failed to do so, he said the other defendants could seek to have the case dismissed because all of the responsible parties were not named.

”If there is shared liability you have an obligation to name all the parties and let the court sort it out,” he said.

While the police report indicates Lee caused the crash, Brown said that photographs from the police report coupled with expert analysis of the Audi under normal operating conditions, indicate Geise was traveling in excess of the posted speed limit. Police said their only clue to the Audi's speed was the speedometer, which was frozen between 50 and 55 mph.

The lawsuit also charged that Geise was driving at a time when he was impaired by lack of sleep.

According to the police report, Geise slept 5½ hours before getting up at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2007. After spending time with his family, he went to his second job at Prudential Pequot Properties in Mystic before arriving back home about 2 p.m. An hour later, he left for his 3 p.m. to midnight shift at the Foxwoods hotel where he was among an elite class of employees who cater to the casino's high-end customers.

At 10:30 p.m., he called his wife to say he was staying an hour later so he could drive Lecardo home. The two men left Foxwoods at 1:15 a.m. on Jan. 28, and the crashed occurred 15 minutes later.

Brown said the police report shows Geise had been awake for 18 hours after 5½ hours of sleep.

”We did not make any allegations in the complaint that we did not feel we could support,” he said.

Geise's attorney, John Collins III, could not be reached for comment.

The suit also charges that David Lee knew his son was at an underage-drinking party and did not take action, even though the Lee home is less than 300 yards from Lavruk's house. It charges Lee did not call police about the party or stop Cameron from driving, and the failure to supervise his son was “a substantial contributing factor” to Lecardo's death.

The suit also charges that Boos knew Lavruk had invited several teenage friends over to the house and “knew or should have known” they would throw a party where alcohol would be served. Boos' failure to control his stepson was a “substantial contributing cause” to Lecardo's death, according to the suit.

The suit also charges that Lavruk's decision to provide alcohol to Lee until he became intoxicated, even though he knew he was a minor, substantially contributed to Lecardo's death.

According to Jennifer Geise's lawsuit, up to 70 teens attended the party, where the alcohol choices included wine, three types of vodka, two brands of rum and six kinds of beer.

Stein's lawsuit seeks damages along with the cost of medical, funeral and burial services for her husband.

”The last thing my client wanted was a lawsuit over this matter. Unfortunately not a single one of the insurance companies was willing to provide her with a fair settlement, so we have to sue and fight,” Brown said. “It makes no sense and it simply causes additional pain and suffering for all of the survivors and their families.”

J.WOJTAS@THEDAY.COM